Responsibilities of the Department

• Each department should have a Postgraduate Tutor (or equivalent) responsible for co-ordinating postgraduate research within the department. The Postgraduate Tutor's role should be formalised to support students and supervisors, as well as developing policy and liaising with Faculty. Many larger departments also have graduate affairs committees, and this is commended as good practice. The department should ensure that all students are aware of the contact details and responsibilities of their Postgraduate Tutor and any other support staff at induction.
• The department should provide new research students with an appropriately constituted supervisory team, in accordance with the University's requirements
• The department should provide new research students with the details of a contact (usually the supervisor) who will meet them on their arrival at the University.
• The department should ensure that supervisors receive the training and support necessary to undertake effective supervision. This support might include teaching relief or adjustment of other responsibilities.
• The department should provide supervisors with a simple form to record supervisory progress meetings.
• The department should ensure that training courses for new supervisors are provided, either within the department/Faculty or by an external source.
• The department should provide all new students with written information on: current research areas of staff and research students in the department; available facilities (for example, office space, equipment, computers, telephones, postage, transport) and students' entitlement to make use of them; departmental personnel (including clerical, technical and administrative staff), procedures and services relevant to their study; out of hours access; guidelines on the expected frequency of contact between student and supervisor and length of formal supervisory session; departmental procedures for monitoring progress and Confirmation Review; details of postgraduate representatives on departmental committees.
• The department should maintain a file on the student's progress, both academic and personal and professional skills development.
• It is a requirement that the department should make arrangements for the provision of alternative supervision if the supervisor is absent for more than the length of time between supervisory meetings, or leaves the University, and should inform Research & Innovation Services of the new arrangements at the earliest opportunity.
• The department should ensure that procedures are in place to monitor the attendance and engagement of all students, to comply with the University's Student Attendance Monitoring Policy.
• The department must ensure that students have adequate facilities with which to pursue their research effectively. Departments should aim to provide facilities appropriate to the research to be undertaken; these will vary between departments and different types of research. Alternative arrangements should be made when equipment breaks down or when there is a shortage of specialised equipment, in order to minimise the delay to the student.
• The department must ensure that students are aware of the relevant Health and Safety regulations.
• The department should ensure that it has transparent written procedures for the Confirmation Review process and that these are provided to students at induction.
• The department must ensure that students undertaking teaching duties receive appropriate induction and support, and that they are given adequate instruction in the use of teaching equipment. Teaching and other duties to be undertaken by students should be specified in writing in advance, including the rate of pay and the number of hours to be undertaken (see the section on Working hours and employment).
• The department should provide information on new procedures relating to research degree programmes and opportunities to spread good practice, e.g. via an annual seminar or forum for all supervisors, experienced and new, as part of their Continuing Professional Development programme for research supervisors.
• The Head of Department or Postgraduate Tutor should discuss complaints about the quality of supervision with the supervisor and, where appropriate, recommend training, or appoint an additional or replacement supervisor.
• Where numbers of research students are low, departments should investigate ways of providing inter-departmental/Faculty social and networking opportunities for students.
• Departments that do not currently run a mentoring scheme for new students should investigate whether such a scheme would be appropriate for their students.